The Prince
by Ember Nickel
Summary: Leia hears a voice deep beneath the water. ["The Message" in a world where the Star Wars gang are morphers.]


My name is Leia Organa.

If you're from around here, you're probably wondering, "Organa? As in, Senator Bail Organa?" To which the answer is: yes, I'm his daughter. And yes, he's as awesome in person as he is on C-SPAN. He's never pressured me to go to his campaigns or appear in his commercials just to look cute, and he really stands by what he believes. And I think he'd respect me even if I grew up to vote for the other guys, but he makes his case so well that I tend to agree with him on most things.

If you're not from around here, but you've heard the stories from my friends Luke and Han and Lando, you're probably wondering something else, which is "how are you going to live long enough to reach voting age?"

See, Earth has a lot more to be afraid of than attack ads. We're under an invasion from Yeerks. Body-snatching, invisible slugs that crawl into the heads of anyone you know. Your friends. Your exes. Your teachers. They could all be Controllers.

For a while, my friends and I were the only ones who were able to fight back. That's because we're Changelings—able to turn into any animal we can touch. It was a gift given to us by a dying Andalite, Obiwan-Kenobi-Benais. A gift, and a responsibility.

If the Yeerks knew our names, we'd be worse than dead. We'd be Controllers, too, our powers twisted and made to work for the enemy. Which is why I definitely can't have anyone reading this.

But here, in my private records, I can tell you the truth. Because we're still fighting. We still have hope. And we're not as alone as we thought.

* * *

"Dreams?" Lando said. "I've had some crazy dreams. Like last night, I was dreaming that I was having a totally normal life, with just my chem final to worry about instead of evil slugs from outer space. That counts as crazy these days, right?"

"You can turn into a bird," Han pointed out. "Shouldn't you be able to steal the answer key?"

"_Guys_," said Luke. "This is serious."

We were in Luke's barn. Luke's dad is some kind of vet, he works with animals. And his mom used to be a real farmer, out in the boonies—they moved out here before Luke started school, so he wouldn't have to take the bus for hours. I think it's neat. Luke said it was a bunch of stupid chores.

Well, he did before he became a Changeling. Having access to a bunch of injured animals turns out to be worth it when you need to acquire their DNA.

"You've been having those dreams, too?" I said. "Like, a voice, calling from under the water?"

"Exactly," said Luke. "Only, it wasn't really _talking_ to me. It was more inside my head."

"Like thoughtspeak?" Lando asked.

"Yeah," I said. "How the Andalite spoke in our heads."

"The Andalite?" Lando echoed. "If...if there's another Andalite out there, we should help."

"I hate to break it to you," said Han, "but isn't there another possible explanation for these dreams?"

"Sure," said Luke. "Leia and I are going crazy from too much alien-busting, and you guys are cool and have it all together. That's another explanation."

I couldn't keep from laughing. There are a lot of words to describe Han, but "cool" and "having it all together" aren't one of them.

Han's a big guy. He's a junior, unlike Luke and I, and he's also...tough. Not in a "I'll beat you up" way, but more of a "I don't need your help" kind of way. He likes to joke around, but he can be serious, too. He certainly takes the Yeerks seriously. If we hadn't seen his ex, Qi'ra, at one of the "Full Member" meetings of the Sharing—that's the Yeerks' cover organization—I'm not sure he'd still be in the fight. He might just want to save his own skin.

But despite not having the welfare of the human race as his absolute first priority, he's kind of cute. (And that _never_ leaves this secret record.)

"We _do _know another Andalite who's out there," Han pointed out.

"Ugh," said Luke. "Darth III."

Darth III isn't really an Andalite. Technically, he's an Andalite-Controller. The one who killed and ate Obiwan.

There's an Andalite still in there: trapped, like Qi'ra and all the other slaves. Obiwan told us that he was a great warrior, once, before he was disgraced and then captured. Or captured and then disgraced. We didn't really have time for a crash course in Andalite politics.

"So you think it's a trap," Lando pointed out.

"We don't have to go in guns blazing," I said. "Turn into birds, get a feel for the area. Keep out of sight."

"What area?" Han asked. "Even _if_ there was an Andalite under water, there are plenty of lakes to choose from."

"I don't think it would be a lake," said Luke. "I think it would be an ocean."

"Now you're the expert on aliens?"

"Think of it this way," Lando said. "Lakes aren't that big. If there's an Andalite trapped in the ocean, maybe we can do something about it. If there's a huge blue alien with four eyes and a tail in a lake—someone else is gonna run across that, with or without us, and then we'll all have bigger problems."

On that vote of confidence, we left the barn, and made plans to meet up at the beach.

* * *

[Hey!] Luke called. [Hot dogs!]

[Luke,] I said. [We are here to look for aliens.]

[Right, right.]

I was a pigeon, hovering above the coast. Luke was a seagull, and apparently still struggling to come to terms with the morph's instincts. Han and Lando, a matching pair of falcons, were behind us. They had acquired the same bird, so they looked like clones.

[Trouble at 2:00,] Lando called. [Controllers.]

[Anyone we know?] Han asked.

[Mr. Valdez,] he said. [And Qi'ra.]

Mr. Valdez is the advisor for the Model UN society. I used to be into it, but I haven't had a lot of time while saving the world, or motivation since knowing he's actually a Yeerk.

[Let's get closer,] I said.

[Not too close,] Luke pointed out. [Four birds from different species flying in this close formation would be weird.]

[You're just saying that so you can snag that carton of popcorn,] Han shot back.

We spiralled in. Fortunately, birds' ears are a lot more perceptive than humans', so we were able to make out a few snippets of dialogue. "...Darth III's been having some kind of visions. He's so upset he threw a Gedd-Controller out of his spaceship."

[What's a Gedd?] Luke asked. We'd seen fearsome Hork-Bajir and monstrous Taxxons along with the human-Controllers, but the Yeerks were subjugating species we'd never heard of.

[Don't know,] Lando replied, [but I bet it's not avian.]

[But that confirms it!] I said. [If Darth III had set the trap, he wouldn't have gotten distracted by visions.]

[We don't know they're the same visions,] Han said. [Who knows what else Yeerks get up to?]

"Ssh!" Mr. Valdez hissed. "We've got company."

I tensed in my pigeon wings. Had they seen us? Cautiously, I edged out towards the ocean, away from the others.

But Mr. Valdez wasn't looking at us. He was looking further down the beach, at an older man who was walking along slowly. Occasionally he would stop to skip rocks, or check his watch, before wandering further down.

"Hello!" Mr. Valdez said, wearing a fake smile. "What brings you here?"

"Just enjoying the sun," he said. He had an accent I couldn't place, maybe Chinese? "I hope I have not disturbed anything."

"Not at all. We're members of the Sharing, a local community organization. Here for our nature walk!"

"Lovely."

"You're welcome to join us next week," Valdez pressed on. "We're having a grillout and some volleyball. Friday night."

"I'll see how I'm feeling," said the man, in a voice that indicated _please leave me alone _in any dialect. It gave me some brief hope—at least people weren't dumb enough for the Yeerks' basest attempts—before we circled on.

We demorphed a little ways inland, once we were sure the Controllers couldn't see us. We'd hidden some spare clothes there. The beach isn't the worst place if you need to stash some normal street clothes, but it still weirds me out hastily pulling on layers, turning away from the boys.

"So," Luke said. "We think there's an Andalite out there?"

"Somewhere in the ocean," Han said, "sure. Doesn't narrow it down."

"And the Yeerks can probably find it as quickly as we can," said Lando.

"Well," I said, "we'll just need to use a tool they don't have."

* * *

[Whoa! Hahaha! This is cool!] Luke exclaimed. [Look at me, I can _swim_!]

"Dolphins are mammals, kid, they still breathe air," Lando pointed out.

[Shut up, I know.]

It hadn't been hard to get over to the zoo, although it took a while to get access to the dolphins. Han had made up a dumb story about needing to do research for his paper before Lando's elbow silence him. Once we'd gotten a spare moment, we'd quickly acquired the same gray, rubbery skin.

"Where've you been?" Mom asked when I got in, tired and in no mood to make a start on my math homework.

"Zoo," I told her. It seemed easiest.

"Oh, that's so sweet! With Pooja?"

"Luke and them," I muttered. I don't think she really knew Luke all that well, but it was easier than saying "running around with some junior guys." Or "just doing my job, keeping Earth safe from aliens. You know, the usual."

"Well, let me know next time you're in the mood, I'll try to come along. I know we're all busy, but I want to spend time with you when I can."

_We're all busy_ meant _Dad's doing government stuff again_. I'd heard that one often enough. Still, I felt bad—she meant well, and there I was keeping secrets.

[This is _fun_,] Luke went on, bounding away from the coast. [But too shallow. Come on, let's dive.]

"Wait for us," said Han, following him into the shallows. "We don't have that much time."

Luke was right; the dolphins' instincts were joyful, propelling us over and under the water, daring us to race each other and take in the dazzling beauty. The receding mountains in the distance, the waves left by my friends as they dove, the faint clouds in the sky—they all told the dolphin it was where it belonged. With the pack, on the go.

[Listen!] said Luke. [I saw something!]

[Listen?] I echoed.

[Like this,] he said, and then he spouted off a _click-click-click_ from his head. Echolocation, showing us the world beyond our immediate horizons.

We _click-click-clicked_ and heard the outlines of tasty fish, of polluting detritus far below us, and, much too far away to see with our own eyes, a shape that felt unfamiliar to the dolphin's mind. Straight lines and circular arcs. The sort of plaything that dolphins, for all their brilliance and social livelihood, had never built for themselves.

[That's it,] I said. [That's the Andalite.]

[What if we get there and can't breathe?] said Lando. [I mean, Darth and Obiwan didn't look like great swimmers.]

[Demorph and remorph in turns on the surface, before we dive down,] Han suggested. [We only need to tread water for a few minutes.]

[A few minutes?] Luke blurted. [What, can you guys all swim or something?]

[Not like _this_,] said Lando. [But like, doggypaddle? A little? Sure.]

[You grew up on a farm,] Han pointed out. [Don't you have...like...fish to take care of?]

[I was busy!] Luke said. [Doing real chores, not taking swimming lessons.]

[Shut up,] I said. The dolphin mind didn't really seem to understand our anger, our wryness—it thought it was all just part of the joke. [We can help you tread.]

[Easy for you to say,] Han rebutted. [I'm going to be stuck with Luke, you're so small he'd pull you under.]

[All our dolphin morphs are the same size,] I pointed out. [We're dolphin quadruplets.]

Despite the bickering, we were all able to remorph once we felt like the ship was roughly below us. Even Lando, who clearly didn't like coughing up salt water, was either trying to impress me or play up the tough-guy act, because he managed.

Then, we plunged into the sea.

Down, down, echolocating as we dove! My human brain wanted to make sense of the images that flashed past us—tasty fish, ridges and rocks, little crabs scuttling across the floor. My dolphin brain wanted to pause for a snack, or to splash for the pleasure of it, or—[Can we breathe now, please?] That was Han.

And then there were colors. Twisting orange stems and blooming purple flowers. It was like something out of a fairy tale, the little mermaid and her garden. Except the garden was inside an enormous dome made of glass, or some see-through alien plastic.

[Oookay,] said Luke. [I think we've found our buddy.]

[Great,] said Lando. [Andalites breath oxygen, right?]

[Darth III sure seems to,] I pointed out. Swimming ahead, I noticed what appeared to be a small hatch protruding from the edge of the ship. [I really hope this is some kind of airlock.]

There was no one there, not even the vibrant plants. Desperate to breathe, we chanced the round button that seemed to indicate an entrance. Apparently "push to open" is one of those things that work the same in every corner of the galaxy, because it let us into a small enclosure and closed behind us to let the water drain.

We raced to morph human, not caring about modesty. Moments later, we were all standing in dripping wet morph suits. Four kids, in way over our heads—literally and figuratively. Maybe some alien's first glimpse of humanity.

There were worse representatives, I reminded myself.

"Okay?" Luke said, nodding at another small button.

"I sure hope so," I said, and pressed down.

* * *

There was grass underneath me. Thick and tall. It was also blue.

Above me, the glass dome, and beyond that the ocean.

[Stay down,] demanded a voice in thoughtspeak. [No fast moves.]

Then the Andalite galloped toward us. It was smaller than Obiwan and Darth, but otherwise looked much the same: two eyes on its face, and two more mounted on stalks. A long, deadly tail. Its fur seemed a little more purply than Darth and Obiwan's, but it was hard to tell against the backdrop of other colors and sensations.

[What are you?] asked the Andalite.

The boys said nothing, as if looking to me to answer. I'm not really a warrior, no more than any of us, but I guess they think I'm a leader. Maybe just because of my dad? I mean, he's not even a blood relative.

Still, anything was better than silence. "We're humans. Uh, Earth people."

[I have heard of you humans. Why are you here?]

"You...called for us, didn't you? In thoughtspeak."

[My call was to my own people. You should not know of thoughtspeak.]

"We can morph," said Luke. "We met an Andalite."

[That is impossible! Our people would never share that technology with you.]

"He was dying," said Luke. "Prince Obiwan something."

[Obiwan-Kenobi-Benais,] the Andalite finished. [You say he is dead?]

"Yes," said Han. "Darth III killed him. The Yeerks are here, on this planet."

The Andalite's stalk eyes pivoted. [Is this a typical posture for you?]

"What?"

[I stunned you.] Holding up the laser, as if we didn't know it looked like a Dracon beam. [Is this your typical position?]

"We prefer to stand on our legs," Lando said. "If that's fine with you."

[Yes, yes,] it said irritably. [Get up.]

We clambered to our feet, taking in the spaceship. Some of the trees had long, narrow-looking buds on them, while the grass gave way to a taller variety near the edge of the dome. There was even a tiny lake, with bright crystals growing inside of it.

[It must be very difficult to balance,] the Andalite observed, [on just two legs.]

"We make do," said Han. "Is it hard to eat without a mouth?"

[We graze on the grass, of course.] Swivelling its eyes, the Andalite gestured to the colorful spread below us.

That didn't answer the question, but Luke didn't mind. "This is all from your homeworld?" he asked. "It's beautiful."

[It's a cage.] The Andalite almost seemed to scowl. [I am an _aristh_, a cadet. Prince Obiwan and the others thought I was not old enough to fight, even in defense of _Rogue One._ So they sent me here to keep me safe. Now I am the only one left! Better to have died with honor than be abandoned here.]

"You're not alone," I said. "You have us."

[You fight the Yeerks?]

"Yes," I said. "We're just—kids, like you, I guess. But this is our home, and Obiwan gave us this power. So we fight."

"I'm Lando." Lando extended a hand, which the Andalite obviously didn't know how to shake. "This is Han, Luke, Leia."

[My name is Jynerso-Hallik-Aublen.]

"Let's go with Jyn," said Han.

Jyn didn't seem to protest. [And who is your prince?]

"We, uh, don't have a prince," I said.

[Every warrior must have a prince. The voice of duty, the voice of the People.]

"Leia is our leader," Luke said.

"Oh, come on—" I started.

"Princess Leia!" Han cracked a smile. "I love it."

"No, I—"

But Jyn was beginning a formal sort of bow. [Prince Leia, I pledge my blade to you.]

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, hoping Jyn wouldn't recognize what that meant. "Great. Uh, as your prince, I must ask you, do you know how to get out of here?"

[I cannot swim in this body,] Jyn explained. [But I have acquired a sea creature that will allow me to travel under water.]

"Good," I said. "So did we."

"No pressure," said Han, "but Darth III might have heard you, too. The Controllers were patrolling this area. So we should make ourselves scarce."

"Do you need to bring these plants with you?" Luke asked. "I mean, are you going to have anything to eat?"

[Is there grass on the surface?]

"Lots and lots," said Lando. "I mean, some of it is being bulldozed for construction, that's kind of how we got into this mess, but—"

"Yes," I said. "We have grass."

[I will adapt,] said Jyn.

We returned to the airlock and began to morph, the four of us returning to the identical dolphin form. Jyn, though, was becoming something else. Something large and dangerous.

A shark!

[Watch out for the morph's instincts,] Luke warned, taking a big breath and pushing free of the dome. [Your species doesn't like ours very much.]

[It is temporary,] said Jyn, but I couldn't help but notice the shark's teeth and jagged tail.

I echolocated to find our way forward. Climb to the surface, ignore the tasty fish, and—

There was something new in the water, something as novel as the great Dome ship but without any of the rigid geometry. Enormous worms, with dozens of legs dangling from their long, circular bodies.

[Taxxons can _swim_?] Lando protested. [Oh, this is not fair. No way.]

[This morph,] asked Jyn. [Is it a predator?]

[Oh yeah,] said Han.

[In that case, Prince Leia, I suggest we engage these Taxxons.]

[I am not a prince,] I noted. [But that's a great idea.]

Taxxons are big. And gross. And surprisingly fast-moving and agile.

But they have some weaknesses, too. They didn't evolve for Earth's oceans, with the pressure and elemental mix our waters contain. More importantly, they can't resist easy prey—even from their brothers-in-arms.

So as soon as Jyn drew first blood, ramming into the side of one of the huge cannibals, we had a break. The others turned to gnaw on the soaking flesh, and we powered out of reach.

[Head for the surface,] I said. [We'll need air before we can put some distance between us and those guys.]

Nobody objected, but a few moments later I heard a deep _whump-whump_ resonate from behind. We caught breaths and dove again, trying to echolocate and make out the size and shape of whatever was trailing us.

[Whatever it is,] said Han, [I don't think it's from this planet.]

We summarized the shape we were sensing for Jyn: a large hump, covered with what seemed like many tiny tails. [It could be a mardrut,] Jyn ventured. [A species from our moons.]

[The Yeerks are taking hosts on your moons?] asked Luke.

[Not infesting, no. The mardrut is not sentient—a Yeerk could not fit inside its brain. That is likely a morph.]

[Darth III,] Lando said. As if we needed reminding.

[You have faced him?] Jyn asked.

[Sort of.]

[For _arisths_, you are accomplished. And modest.]

[Yeah, yeah,] said Han. [Let's escape him again, then we can brag.]

_Whump-whump, whump-whump_.

We ploughed through the water as fast as we could, yet Darth III seemed untiring. Had he morphed before we did? Surely he would face the time limit, but by then it might already be too late for us.

[Your time grows short, Andalites,] Darth III taunted. [Surrender, and I might grant you a quick and merciful death instead of handing you over to my lieutenants.]

[Ignore him,] said Lando. [He doesn't know we're human. Let's keep it that way, yeah?]

_Our people would never share that technology with you. _Clearly Darth was privy to all the Andalites' secrets—but he knew their taboos, too. It wasn't much, but it was an advantage we had to press. Assuming we made it through the next hour, anyway.

He was gaining on us, stroke by stroke. I could glimpse the surface, but land was too far away. We would not make it.

[Forgive me,] Jyn said. [I have led you all into danger.]

[It was our choice to come here,] I said, before Han could butt in with something snide. Maybe that was what it meant to be a prince—no great strategies, but providing strength in the face of the inevitable. [Let's see if we can take him with us, huh?]

[It would be my honor.]

Jyn turned, exhausted from the chase, and we followed. I heard Han's private thoughtspeak in the corner of my mind. [Leia?]

[Yeah?]

[Never mind,] said Han. [Let's go.]

The mardrut charged.

We charged back.

And then a mighty splash surged between us.

* * *

_Fwoomp!_

Something gargantuan had risen up from the floor, dwarfing even Darth III's morph. A whale!

[GO!] I heard a deep, booming voice in my head. As if the sea itself was fighting on our side, giving us strength.

The others didn't seem to have noticed it. Jyn was biting in a frenzy, as if the shark morph could penetrate the terrible mardrut. Luke had snuck around, maybe trying to attack Darth III from behind. Did the mardrut even have a back side, or could it see in all directions?

The whale surged up again, colliding with the mardrut and knocking it back. Again, the thundering command: [GO!]

That time the others seemed to hear. They rose to the surface, and I quickly joined them. I kept my eyes peeled to the horizon, hoping that maybe we might reach the shore. Behind me, I echolocated to trace the mardrut's retreat. It seemed even Darth III had to admit he was outmastered, because I could no longer pick up the morph's outline. He must have demorphed, waiting for his minions to give him a tow.

I couldn't sense the whale, either. Part of me realized it had probably been killed, displaced from its niche atop the food pyramid by something that did not belong in these oceans. But part of me hoped it had swum away to sing another day.

[You have a very diverse planet,] Jyn pointed out. [We did not study most of these species in school.]

[Yeah,] said Lando. [Neither did we.]

It was almost dark when we got to the shore. Which was probably good, because I don't think a casual beachgoer would have been ready to take in the rest of us shedding our blowholes and flippers, never mind Jyn.

"Jyn," I said, "you're probably going to need some land morphs. You definitely don't want to explain yourself to any Controllers, and probably not to the rest of us humans, either."

Jyn fixed us with a shrewd glare. [May I perform a _Frolis _maneuver?]

"A what?" Han asked. "Is that some kind of spacecraft thing?"

[It is a form of morphing. Rather than become a genetic duplicate of any of you, I would combine your DNA into a new human identity. So that I can pass among humans more easily.]

"If you want to, uh, acquire me, that's fine," said Luke, and we nodded.

In turn, Jyn pressed a slender blue hand to each of ours. In a way it felt like the reverse of Obiwan giving us the power, when we'd all huddled around that brilliant blue cube. I felt a little dozy as Jyn acquired me, but I guess I would have been pretty distracted anyway. It had been a long day.

But before Jyn could begin the morph, the tide rose, and bore with it a large frame.

The whale! It had been beached, maybe badly wounded by Darth III. I wondered if this would make the news, or if marine biologists could tell when a whale was murdered by an alien instead of just dropping dead.

Then the whale started to stand upright.

"Whoa," said Han. And, "Get back."

The whale was shifting, changing shape, growing legs and stalk eyes and a tailblade. Becoming an Andalite that towered over Jyn. That would have towered over Obiwan or Darth III.

Jyn snapped to attention. [Commander?]

* * *

[Do not move,] said the big Andalite.

"It's deja vu all over again," Lando muttered.

[Let me handle this,] Jyn told us.

What followed was a very awkward few minutes of silence as Jyn and the other Andalite rapidly thoughtspoke back and forth, while the rest of us scanned the horizon to make sure nobody was coming, Yeerk or human. Finally, the other Andalite spoke. [You. Leia.]

"Yes?" I said. We'd just avoided Darth III, I told myself, when we shouldn't have survived. This guy had to be on our side.

[You are this _aristh_'s prince?]

"We just met, but he seems to think so."

The Andalite gave what seemed to be a _ha-ha _in thoughtspeak. [You fight the Yeerks?]

"Yes," I repeated. "Prince Obiwan gave us the morphing power. He's dead now. We're just kids. _A__risths_, as you'd say, but we have no one else to trust."

More silent back-and-forth.

[Where can I find you?] the big Andalite said. [If we need to speak again?]

"You want my address?" I blurted out. "Do _you_ have a human morph? Or a bird or something...stealthier?"

[Of course I have a human morph.]

"How many of you are there?" Han said. "Maybe we should be taking orders from you."

The Andalite glared, and Jyn rushed to answer. [There are just two. Baze, here, and his—partner, his _shorm_. Chirrut was...badly hurt in the battle, and he is...not well. They are hiding.]

"But you can morph, can't you?" Luke responded eagerly. "He can morph, and fix it."

[Be silent, human,] said Baze. Jyn raised one hand, in caution, then launched into another round of silent chatter.

"Give them my address," Han said. "My parents are never around anyway, they won't care if an Andalite comes by."

"Your neighbors might," said Lando.

"You know what I mean."

Jyn seemed to like this idea, and passed Han's location along to Baze. [We are all on the same side,] said the young _aristh_. [It is...difficult, for Baze, to be alone here. But we have saved each other's lives, and I will not forsake my duty to you, Prince Leia.]

"I'm not a prince," I repeated. "If it's easier for you to stay with them, go ahead. We'll keep fighting."

[Nothing of this struggle is easy,] said Jyn, and I had to agree with that. [Let us speak again somewhere fittingly secluded.]

* * *

In the end it was an energetic robin who circled Han's house and caught up with him. After coordinating our schedules—school was great for running into each other, but ate up so much time!—we found time one evening to fly out to the distant forest where the Andalites were staying.

[They couldn't have found somewhere a little closer?] Han griped, as we searched in vain for a thermal carrying us in that direction.

[They probably couldn't have,] I pointed out, [it sounds like Chirrut can't disguise himself well, and they don't want humans to come across them.]

[It was a joke.]

[It's hard to detect your sarcasm,] I said. [Falcon body language all looks the same.]

Jyn led us to a shady clearing where we demorphed. Baze was slumping against a nearby tree, and another Andalite, who must have been Chirrut, stood near him, pawing at the grass. Chirrut's fur was lighter than the others', nearly sky-blue, and his tail ended in a blunt edge rather than tapering to a point.

[These are the humans,] said Jyn, needlessly.

We gave our names in turn. Baze still hung back, but Chirrut leapt up to greet us. [An honor! I am Chirrut-Imwe-Doye, and my _shorm_ is Commander Baze-Malbus-Tashu.]

"You were fighters with Prince Obiwan?" I asked.

[Yes. On the _Rogue One. _I am sorry to say the Yeerk forces here were more numerous than we anticipated.]

"Is there anyone else?" said Luke.

[Not that I am aware of. We heard _aristh_ Jynerso's distress call, and I...persuaded Baze to seek out the dome.]

"You talked him into it," said Lando.

[I did!] Chirrut almost seemed to smile with his eyes. [He may be a Commander and I a mere fighter pilot, but there are other claims to seniority.]

"But you didn't come yourself?" Han asked.

Baze lurched forward, his grip on the Earth grass unstable. [Warrior Chirrut sustained debilitating injuries defending your planet. Do not slight his honor!]

[Peace, my flower,] said Chirrut. I stifled a laugh. Baze was colossal, and his blade could slice you to pieces in seconds. Not how I envisioned a flower, but who knows with aliens? [The morphing technology is a new innovation. In the past we used it primarily for stealth. As you surely know, our own blades are formidable in most circumstances.]

[Chirrut,] Baze began.

[Thank you, _Commander_.]

I got the feeling we were intruding into a long, and ongoing, argument. "We use it to fight," I said. "We're just kids. We'll take anything we can get against the Yeerks."

[Children,] said Chirrut. [It is not right for you to bear this burden. Yet it may be years before our people return.]

"Do you have some way of contacting them?" Lando asked. "Computers?"

[We salvaged little,] said Baze. [Rudimentary power supplies, some herbs.]

"Obiwan brings a morphing cube into battle, and you guys have _herbs_?" Lando blurted. "What kind of a military is this?"

[I could return to the dome,] said Jyn. [There may be some—life support technology there.]

[That will not be necessary!] Baze snapped. [The Yeerks know its approximate position. They will have surely jettisoned it.]

[What is useful for us may not be useful to Yeerks.] Jyn's stalk eyes swiveled back and forth in the shadows.

[Were there any shredders remaining?] Chirrut asked. [The Yeerks have more than enough Dracon beams. They might not have thought to scuttle those.]

"If by shredders you mean those Dracon-ish laser things, yes, they're still there," said Han, thankfully omitting the details of how we'd discovered them.

[You cannot think to fight in your condition,] said Baze.

[Times are changing,] said Chirrut. [Would you leave this planet to the care of these children?]

They had another silent argument. Truth be told, I was pretty fed up with Baze. We finally met someone who knew how to fight, and all he wanted to do was hide in the woods? But I tried to stay calm, as much to help make a decent first (or second) impression as to help steady Jyn, whose stalk eyes kept pivoting over to me.

Finally, it was Baze that spoke. [This fool has sacrificed more than enough already, but he seems intent on continuing to do so. I will fight beside him, in whatever days remain to me.]

"And Jyn?" Luke asked.

[She seems to have already sworn yourself to your company,] said Chirrut.

"I'm not a leader," I said. "I mean, you know what you're doing—"

Lando interrupted. "She? You're a girl?"

[I am an Andalite woman, yes,] said Jyn. [As for my human morph, I am not sure. _Frolis_ maneuvers can be complicated.]

"Huh," he said. "Sorry! Didn't realize."

[I would not expect a species of your capacity to be familiar with xenobiology.]

Lando raised his eyebrows. "Can't tell if you're forgiving me or insulting me."

"Doesn't matter," I said. "Jyn, if it's okay, you'll probably need to stay with the others. It's safer here, and we—Baze should be in charge."

[Ignorant human,] said Baze. Great.

[You know this planet,] said Chirrut. [And you know the versatility of animal species here; you are probably more adept with the technology than me. We would be honored to offer guidance, but we do not presume to command.]

"I think that's alien for _you're the princess, princess_," Han added.

I wasn't ready for any of it. But when had I been? When we met Obiwan in the construction site? When we first snuck into the Yeerk pool and barely escaped with our lives? When I hid as a cat in Pooja Chen's basement? When I heard Jyn dreaming?

"We'll do our best," I said, "together. That's all we can do."

[For the cause of freedom,] said Jyn. And even in the darkness, I could tell the others were smiling with their mouths and their eyes.


End file.
